Package for tin plate or the like



'Meir Attorney.

E. F-MILLER ET AL Filed June as. 1956" Au 12, 195s PACKAGE FOR TIN- PLATEl'QR THE LIKE M 0 1 ull nnuunuunu H HHHIVHHF Wu H finu hunfl United States Patent PA'CKAGE FOR TIN PLATE OR THE LIKE Ernest F. Miller, Gary, Ind., and Wilbert G. Nichol,

Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application June 28, 1956, Serial, No. 594,614

1 Claim. (Cl; 206-60) This invention relates to a package for tin plate or other highly finished sheet products. Tin plate is ordinarily shipped in the form of packages each consisting of a pile of sheets arranged on a wooden shipping platform and wrapped with waterproof paper. A covering of corrugated or fibre board is placed around the waterproof paper and the assembly bound with steel straps. In most instances steel angles are used to reinforce the vertical corners and the horizontal edges of the package. Conventional tin plate packages may have as many as thirty or more components assembled in such a manner as to avoid shifting or canting of the tin plate during handling or in transit and to prevent moisture from contacting the tin plate. The assemblyof these parts is a complicated and laborious task which is time consuming and costly and not readily adaptable for mechanized operations. The corrugated or fibre board covering ordinarily used is rather complicated and requires a number of steps in preparing it for assembly.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide a package for tin plate or the like which is simple in design, provides maximum protection against damage from moisture and handling and is suitable for automatic or semi-automatic assembly.

This and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the completed package with parts broken away for better illustration;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the sheets mounted on the platform; and

Figure 3 is an expanded or developed view of the cover.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a platform generally made of Wood. The platform 2 consists of a deck 4 supported on runners 6 to which it is nailed. At least two runners are provided and they are spaced inwardly from the ends of the deck. The size of the platform 4 is slightly smaller than the size of the tin plate to be handled. The ends of the runners 6 have a cutout upper portion 8 therein. In assembly a cardboard sheet 10 is placed on the deck 4 and a pile of sheets of tin plate S placed on top thereof after which a similar cardboard sheet 12 is placed on top of the sheets. A waterproof paper lining 14 is wrapped around the pile of tin plate with the bottom end of the paper lining extending a short distance under the deck 4 as shown in Figure 2 and the upper end being bent over top of the pile. The foregoing is conventional practice and may be varied if desired. A cover 16 made of a corrugated fibre board sheet is then placed over the waterproof paper lining 14. As best shown in Figure 3 the sheet 16 is generally rectangular in shape and has a length substantially greater than the length A of the tin plate plus twice the height C of the tin plate. The

width of the sheet 16 is slightly greater than the width B of the tin plate plus twice the height C of the pile of tin plate. Longitudinal score lines 18 and transverse 2,847,120 Patented. Aug. 12, 1958 score lines 20' are provided so as to define. a center section having a, size one-half inch longer and one-half inch wider than the sheets of tin plate. Longitudinal cuts 22 are, provided in the sheet 16 one at each end of the lines 18; The cuts 22 extend inwardly to the score lines 20. Score lines 24 are provided at each end of the sheet 16 approximately three inches from the end. The distance betweenscore lines 20 and 24 is equal to the height C of the pile of sheets and deck 4 plus one-half inch. It will be understood that the one-half inch provided for the bends may vary depending upon the type of material from which the sheets 16 are made. The score lines may be double as at 24 or single as at 18 and 20. The sheet 16 is placed on the top of the pile of tin plate withthecenter of the sheet forming the top of the containen The remainder of the sheet is bent downwardly along score lines 18 and 20 around the pile with, the corner sections 26 being bent around the ends of the pile beneath end portions 28 between the end cuts 22. The extreme ends of the sheet 16 are bent around score lines24 beneath the deck 4. A vertical angle 30 is placed at each corner of the package with one leg on the outside of the container and the other leg beneath the end portion 28 and over the corner section 26. A horizontal angle 32 extends along the bottom of each longitudinal side of the pile on the outside of the container with one leg extending into the cutout portions 8 and the other leg extending vertically against the package and bearing against the vertical angles 30. The angles 30 and 32 are preferably made of steel. Horizontal straps 34 made of round steel wire or flat bands are passed around the package one at the level of the bottom angles 32 and another around the top of the vertical angles 30. An intermediate strap may be provided as shown. Vertical straps 36 are passed around the package beneath the deck, one around the vertical angles 30 at each end and around the end of the horizontal angle 32 as shown. An additional center strap may be provided as shown. The ends of the sheet 16 extending beneath the end of the deck 4 may be held in place in any suitable manner and the angles 32 may be held in position in any suitable manner during assembly such as by means of staples 38. It is preferred that the horizontal legs of angles 32 bear against the bent lower ends of the sheet 16 to hold them in place so as to provide a good seal. The end vertical straps 36 also bear against these bent lower ends to aid in holding them in place. The insertion of one leg of the steel angles 30 between the two layers of the sheet 16 eliminates the need for corrugated board protection pads under these angles as are required in the conventional package. This construction along with the cover flaps folded under the lower edge of the package on the ends and the steel angles 32 secured by the ties arranged as shown provide a stronger and better sealed package which weighs less than the conventional package. The package is also easily disassembled. It is only necessary to cut the straps 30 and 36 after which the angles 30 and 32, sheet 16 and liner 14 may be easily removed. Thus the cost to the purchaser of the tin plate is decreased by a minimum package stripping time and least possible shipping weight on which freight must be paid.

While one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

A package for sheets of tin plate or the like comprising a platform having a deck and at least two runners supporting said deck, said runners being spaced inwardly from the ends of said deck, the ends of said runners having a cutout upper portion, a pile of sheets resting on said deck, a waterproof paper lining surrounding said pile 'with the ends thereof extending a short distance under said deck, a cover surrounding said paper lining, said cover being formed of a single generally rectangular sheet of material having a length substantially greater than the length of the sheets of tin plate plus twice the height of the pile and a width slightly greater than the width of the sheets of tin plate plus twice the height of the pile, said sheet of material having two longitudinal cuts at each end one spaced inwardly from each side a distance substantially equal to the height of the pile, each cut having a length equal to substantially one-half the difference between the length of the sheet of material and the length of the sheets of tin plate, said sheet having two pairs of parallel fold lines traversing the sheet at right angles to each other, one pair connecting the corresponding inner ends of the cuts and being in alignment therewith and the other pair traversing the sheet and connecting the adjacent ends of the cuts at right angles thereto, said cuts and fold lines defining a central rectangular panel, end and side panels and flaps connected to said side panels, the center panel of said sheet of material forming the top of the cover, the side and end panels of said sheet of material being bent downwardly around the pile and the flaps being bent around the ends of the pile beneath the end panel, the ends of said end panels being bent under said platform, a vertical angle at each corner having one leg on the outside of the side of said cover and the other leg between the inwardly bent flaps and downwardly bent end panel, an angle extending along the bottom of each side of the pile on the outside of the container with one leg extending into the said cutout portion beneath the deck and the other leg extending vertically against the outer free end of said side panel, horizontal straps extending around the package one at the level of the bottom angles and another around the top of the vertical angles, and vertical straps extending around the package beneath the deck one around the vertical angles at each end and around one end of the bottom angles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,735,548 Scott Nov. 12, 1929 1,983,868 Morrisroe Dec. 11, 1934 2,004,626 Hann June 11, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 662,233 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1951 

